Drink driving busts hit record low as police sledge ‘selfish pricks’ strikes home

Police have detailed the dramatic changes in drink driving rates since the start of a targeted, blunt campaign. Here are the stats that show the difference.

Drink-driving rates have hit their lowest point in 10 years because of the hard-hitting “Selfish Prick” police advertisements.

But police figures obtained by the RAA also show speeding offences have hit a new high.

The Selfish Prick anti-drink driving campaign is aimed at the most intransigent younger male drink drivers and was launched in March 2021.

SAPOL have released drink driving detection figures over the past 10 years, showing in April this year the rate of positive tests dropped from one per hundred tested drivers to just 0.54 per 100 drivers.

Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said: “Extensive research and testing informed the development of this campaign and it’s pleasing to see that it is having the desired impact on the attitudes and behaviours of selfish, irresponsible drivers”.

“It’s clear that South Australians consider drink driving to be an issue that warrants an unapologetic and hard-hitting approach.

“Most people do the right thing on our roads, but this shows that those who still choose to endanger lives with their reckless, selfish behaviour are not accepted or tolerated.”

Studies of the campaign also showed it had cut through to the target audience.

In the most dramatic finding, 100 per cent of 30-39 year olds said the advertisement would cause them to worry what others thought of them if they were to drink drive.

Police have also addressed several complaints made to independent adjudicator Ad Standards, which has rejected that the adverts constituted discrimination, vilification or bad language.

Police are branding the worst drink drivers "selfish pricks" to try and stamp out the offending. Picture: SA Police.

In one letter to Ad Standards, a parent who was not identified said: “My three-year-old son was reasonably awake at this time of the evening, and is now repeating the disgusting phrase ‘selfish prick’ ”.

But Ad Standards concluded: “Words and phrases which are innocuous and in widespread and common use in the Australian vernacular are permitted.”

Meanwhile there has been an increase in the number of SA drivers caught speeding.

Figures obtained by the RAA show in 2020-21, 214,426 motorists were caught over the limit, forking out $88m in fines, and higher that the 196,799 caught in 2019-20 and fined $75.5m.

RAA road safety expert Charles Mountain said motorists had been caught a staggering million times on South Australian roads in the past five financial years.

“Research shows speed continues to be a major contributing factor to serious and fatal crashes,” he said.